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FM2 honored as Outstanding Business/Industry

Chamber of Commerce members voted the Farmers Market on the Square (FM2) as Outstanding Business/Industry of 2017. They were introduced by Henrietta Scott who said she could hear Jeff, her late husband and one of the founders, saying to get up in front of everyone and introduce the group of people who make FM2 work, no matter how hard it would be. Henrietta asked Barbara Armitage to come up and explain the market and all it has grown into. Her remarks follow.

By Barbara Armitage, director, Farmers Market on the Square

This is an incredible honor for us. In all my years of working with and shopping at farmers markets I have never heard of a market being honored in such a way. We owe our success to all our wonderful and loyal customers - thank you all!

At the Farmers Market on the Square I have the privilege of working with more than 60 local farmers, some incredibly talented crafters, community service organizations and some hardworking volunteers.

Every week someone asks me if all this is "worth it". Oh yes, I think it is. And I think that the hundreds of happy customers that visit us every week would agree that all this hard work is very much "worth it".

For FM2 to be voted Adair County's 2017 Business of the Year supports everything we believe in. It is our mission to:

"Operate a diverse and exciting farmers' market that contributes to the success of local food growers and producers, strengthens our food economy and serves as a community gathering place"

We've proved that a business like this - without walls or a roof - open some really limited hours - can actually happen in a small town - when everyone believes it can.

I hope that you all will come and visit us if you haven't - I can promise you that you'll be surprised.

You know that you can't give me a microphone and not have me take advantage of it. Please know that you have our deepest thanks for this. However, the market is more than your average business. A big part of our business is our community because we believe that we don't do this for our community - we do it with our community.

And so I need to ask you all for your support for Kids Bucks.

It's our hope that one of our summer programs - we call it kids bucks - will somehow find funding for this year. It's simple - Kid's Bucks gives each kid $10 to spend on fresh fruit and vegetables at the market. It encourages them to try new foods, educates them on how to make good choices and empowers them to make decisions that will help them grow up healthy.

We were promised funding for the program since last fall but it's not going to come through. We need $3500 fast to make the program happen. The entire amount goes toward the kids - no administrative costs at all. Since I never miss a chance to promote the market and our programs I'm asking you all tonight to help us fund Kid's Bucks for this summer. The kids and all of us would really appreciate your donations. Any of us here would be happy to talk with you, answer your questions and of course take your money.

This story was posted on 2017-05-18 08:43:03

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